John Hobson Matthews (1858–1914) was a Roman Catholic historian, archivist and solicitor.

Biography

John Hobson Matthews was born in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an exten ...

in 1858, to Emma Hobson from Great Grimsby and his father from St. Ives. He attended schools in Blackheath and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

and worked in Malta for a short period with a shipping firm. Matthews joined the Roman Catholic church in 1877 and became a solicitor in 1889, subsequently working in Cardiff. As a keen linguist, he edited ''Emynau Catholig'' (English: 'Catholic Hymns'), translated ''Ffordd y Groes'' ('The way of the cross') and joined the Welsh Bardic Gorsedd. Matthews also edited the ''Cardiff Records, being materials for a history of the County Borough from the earliest times'' (1898-1911) and wrote a report on the Monmouthshire County Council records in 1905. He was involved in the transactions of the Cardiff Naturalists Society and, more significantly, the

Catholic Record Society The Catholic Record Society (Registered Charity No. 313529), founded in 1904, is a scholarly society devoted to the study of Reformation and post-Reformation Catholicism in England and Wales. It has been described as "the premier Catholic histo ...

, being among the original members of this society. Matthews understood Maltese, Cornish, Irish and

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

. He married Alice Mary Gwyn-Hughes in 1892, who bore him four sons and two daughters. He died in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was his ...

on 23 January 1914.

Other notable works

* ''A History of the parishes of St. Ives, Lelant, Towednack, and Zennor'' (London, 1892) - published by Matthews * Martin Cock's ''Guide to St. Ives'' (St. Ives, 1906) - edited by Mathews * ''Yr Hen grefydd a'r grefydd newydd. Sef dadl … am yr Eglwys Gatholig … Wedi ei gyfieithu i'r Gymraeg gan … J. H. Jones'' (Cardiff, 1889) - prepared by Matthews * ''The Life and Memorials of Saint Teilo'' (Preston, 1893) - prepared by Matthews * ''The Vaughans of Courtfield: a study in Welsh genealogy'' (London, 1912) - based on Matthews' findings

References

*https://biography.wales/article/s-MATH-HOB-1858

Biography

Other notable works

References

Further reading